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Greg stumbled upon this site this morning and it looks very interesting. A bit fancy for my tastes, but if you want a beautiful hive, then this might be right up your alley. For the record, the site’s claim that topbar hives “fail(s) to meet USDA regulatory inspection guidelines” is utter nonsense. Topbars are easily removed for inspection, it just may take …

Jeez, what a slaughter. 58% of them gone. I don’t think that banning neonicotinoid pesticides is THE answer, though. It’s an important step, but there’s no way that pesticides are completely reponsible for this. If anyone needs more proof that the industry must change their practices, this is it. More than half of Ontario honey bee colonies died last winter: report …

George Monbiot writes in The Guardian: Here’s our choice. We wait and see whether a class of powerful pesticides, made by Bayer and Syngenta, is indeed pushing entire ecosystems to oblivion, or we suspend their use while proper trials are conducted. The natural world versus two chemical companies: how hard can this be? via Another Silent Spring? | George Monbiot.

In the time B.B. (Before bees), I didn’t really give a lot of thought to wildflowers. I could identify a few dozen, but I didn’t have any particular reason to learn about more. After bees, I’m sure I’ve learned 100 or more. This is a neat site to help you identify what that particular plant is that you’re looking at based upon …

I was just reading an article in the Kingston Whig Standard about beekeepers and Ontario’s proposed restrictions on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides. Beeks are happy and hopeful, but the corn and soybean industry is in a frothing panic. According to a Conference Board of Canada report, paid for by the Grain Farmers of Ontario and industry group CropLife Canada, …

There was a discussion on a Facebook group yesterday about beekeeping guides. A newbee was looking for a recommendation for “the best” one. I wish I could say that this book or that one is the best one ever and there’s no need for any others. Unfortunately, I can’t. Such a guide doesn’t exist. However, it’s easy to make a recommendation: …

Hit off the Globe & Mail’ presses comes word that Ontario is planning to do something about the rampany overuse of neonicotinoid pesticides: http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/pesticide-linked-to-bee-deaths-to-be-restricted-in-ontario/article19480431/?service=mobile It’s not a ban, but it’s a step in the right direction. Hopefully, whatever kind of permit scheme they come up with will make a difference.